What I Really Want To Say
by Leader of the Penguins
Summary: After the drama of Advent Children, the group decided to kick back with a trip to Icicle Inn. For Yuffie, this trip will unearth feelings she didn't know she had. Will she reveal what is really in her heart? Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**_DISCLAIMER : I do not own any of these characters._**

**_I wrote this chapter a few years ago, I think back then I enjoyed the idea of everyone being friends. It seems Rufus has mellowed out a bit since AC. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if it resembles my old ideas in any way. Enjoy and let me know what you think :)_**

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**~CHAPTER ONE~**

Yuffie crept down the stairs, hesitating every so often. Her bare feet were slowly adjusting to the cold hardwood stairs, and she was careful to avoid brushing against the wall. Upon reaching the ground floor, Yuffie sped up ever-so-slightly, through the hallway and into the kitchen. A silent rustling greeted her, however, she was sure that it was nothing. Slowly opening the fridge door, she was disappointed when her sought after chocolate cake was not there.

"Damn, I was looking forward to that cake," she muttered, closing the door after grabbing what was left of the trifle. Still in the darkness, she gently placed the bowl onto the kitchen table, groped in the dark for the cutlery drawer, and then silently dusted her fingers over the cutlery, looking for a spoon. Having found it, she crept back and slid into her seat.

"... You're not the only one having a second helping of dessert," came a voice from in front of Yuffie.

Startled, she held up her spoon like a weapon and said, "Who's there?"

"It's me, Reno. Want some chocolate cake?"

Dropping the spoon into the trifle, Yuffie pushed the bowl towards the direction of Reno's voice and grabbed around for that chocolate cake. The only thing she did grab, however, was Reno's hand, and perhaps held onto it longer than she should have done.

"You really want it, don't you?"

By this time, Yuffie was growing impatient. "Yeah, gimme!"

Reno, however, was in no hurry to hand over the delicious dessert. "You do know, Tifa baked this from scratch ... Only real cocoa powder, none of that hot chocolate crap, and of course, real chocolate in the frosting."

"Damn it Reno! Just give it over!"

Enjoying this, Reno continued to lay it on thick. "I love the way she adds in the raspberry jam and buttercream frosting, a fruity twist which makes the chocolate less overpowering. But I guess you do appreciate it more, considering there is less than what there could be."

Yuffie let out a long sigh, her taste buds desperate for cake.

"Here you go ..." Reno slid the plate forwards, which was picked up in an almost sweeping movement by Yuffie. "Watch you don't eat too much, you don't want to be kept up for the rest of the night.

And with that, Reno, silently got up and left the kitchen, the only sound being the gentle padding of his feet on the tiled floor.

Alone with her thoughts and the remains of the chocolate cake, Yuffie began to think about Reno. His cockiness, the way he acts around others, his laid back approach to clothing, the ridiculously red mullet, his eyes, what it would be like to kiss those lips ...

"No! That's stupid!" Yuffie caught herself saying aloud, feeling guilty about her thoughts. And also worried. How long had she been harbouring these thoughts?

Feeling rather uneasy, Yuffie decided sitting in the kitchen eating chocolate cake wasn't going to help. Instead, she decided to make her way back up to the room she shared with Tifa, where she could finally fall asleep and put those 'stupid' thoughts to the back of her mind.

-----

Tifa was the first to join Yuffie at the breakfast table the next morning, where evidence of last night had been removed. Spreading a layer of marmalade on her toast, Tifa guessed that there was something not right with Yuffie.

"What happened? You eat the rest of that cake? I did tell you, it would be far too sickening."

"It's not that ... It's nothing." Yuffie said defensively, hoping that Tifa would leave well enough alone. Unfortunately for Yuffie, Tifa was one to always argue that unless problems were shared, they would be harder to solve.

"Come on, tell me. You know I won't tell anyone. Besides, we're going to Icicle Inn today for our skiing trip. It's great they expanded the inn last year, now we can all go, but if you got whatever it is off your chest now, you'll enjoy the trip more."

"Well, there's one ... there's this guy, right?"

Intrigued, Tifa looked around to make sure there was no-one listening-in. "Who?"

Yuffie shook her head, explaining, "There's no point in saying. Thing is, I never used to think much of him, but then somehow I got caught off guard, and I started thinking these things ... Until I stopped myself, of course."

Sipping her glass of orange juice, Tifa took it all in, her mind racing as to who the mystery guy could be. Already, she was thinking of possibilities.

Yuffie shuffled uncomfortably in her chair, staring at her bowl of now soggy Choco Flakes. She gently stirred it with her spoon, watching the chocolate from the flakes mix with the milk. Reminding her of last night, she put the spoon down and stared out of the window.

During the next half an hour, the others began to appear at the table. Cloud, Reno, Rude, Marlene and Elena staggered in, fresh from their sleep. On the other hand, Denzel came racing in with Rufus not that far behind him, trying to persuade him to put on underwear. In the end, that job was left to Tifa.

"I'll tell you this, it's a lot more comfortable here than it was all those years ago," Cloud said of the newly refurbished Shinra Mansion, located in the town of Nibelheim.

"I'm so glad I was able to do this, it was so run down," said Rufus, helping himself to a few slices of toast. "Sometimes it's good to have places like this, large gatherings and things. A mansion isn't so good if you're all alone. If I was here myself, I would be insane by now, hiding in the basement."

"Yeah, but you know, eventually we would have found you," began Reno. "And shot you."

There were a few slight giggles, with Yuffie trying to look as neutral as possible.

"I suppose an insane leader is not the best of things, we all know that. Past experience proves useful." Rufus maintained, reaching for the pitcher of orange juice.

While everyone else was busy enjoying breakfast and the company, Yuffie decided to venture out into the grounds. The town was rather quiet, the only person out was a frazzled looking woman running to the store with a young kid following behind with an empty milk carton.

Closing the gate behind her, Yuffie walked towards the water tower and climbed on top if it. She kept thinking how stupid she was to think that way about Reno, and that no good could ever come from this. Peering into the water, she saw the morning sun's reflection, and that of the odd bird which flew by.

With little over an hour left before they were to be picked up by Cid in his airship, Yuffie decided to stay up there for ten more minutes before heading back to pack. The one thing she didn't count on, though, was the sight of Reno waving up at her. A quick wave was enough before the colour of her face matched Reno's hair, so she stared up at the blue sky.

Secretly, she thought there was a hidden charm about Reno, but she would never admit it.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Disembarking the airship, Yuffie wrapped her jacket tightly around her body, shivering in the cold. Her sight fixed firmly on the small village ahead, she asked Cloud, "Whatcha gonna do today?"

"I'll probably go snowboarding, it's really good to just let go of your thoughts and enjoy it. You should try it," he replied, carrying his own snowboard with him.

Yuffie grimaced at the thought. "I would, but ... I still feel a bit nauseous from the flight."

"Ah well, maybe tomorrow then?" Cloud asked, high-fiving Denzel as he and Marlene ran by, heading for the village.

Yuffie nodded, "Maybe."

Yuffie carried on, trying to forget the nausea that swept over her earlier. She deliberately kept her mind focused on the impending trip as she wrapped her jacket around even tighter. She noticed a few light snowflakes began to fall around her, and brushed a couple out of her hair.

Tifa caught up to her, wrapped up in a fleece throw. "So ... got something to tell me?"

_Crap, I'd hoped she forgot_, Yuffie thought to herself. It was the big issue she had been avoiding all day. Right now, she wondered why it bothered her so much. Crushes and stuff happen all the time, so why did this feel any different?

"I know you were with Reno last night," Tifa whispered.

Yuffie tried not to blush, "It was him that ate most of your cake."

"I know, he told me. So, is it him?"

Yuffie shook her head. She hated lying, but until she understood her feelings more, she decided to keep Reno to herself.

"Man, I was so sure ..." Tifa muttered. "Well, if you need to talk ..."

"I know, you're here," Yuffie said quietly. "Thank you."

"Anyway, there's that new boutique just opened, I can't wait to visit it! It's great they've expanded the village," Tifa said happily. "We really needed something other than Costa Del Sol and Gold Saucer."

"Yeah, I could use some new clothes," Rufus added, walking alongside Tifa, carrying a heavy coat.

Tifa sniggered, "I guess Tseng got his way then?"

Nodding, Rufus replied, "He told me to wear more colours so I didn't blend in with the snow."

"Plus it gets dirty easily," Yuffie added, shoving her hands inside her jacket pockets. "Oh, and it goes see-through when wet."

"Yeah ..." Rufus said, "I like white tops on women ..."

Tifa gave him a gentle shove. "Typical guy."

"Yeah, well, you bake cakes, and do all sorts of cooking and cleaning! To me that says, typical woman," Rufus said, with a hint of cockiness.

"Look, if I didn't do any of that, nothing would get done!" Tifa insisted.

"Speaking of cake, any left?" enquired Rufus.

"Nope, Reno at most of it last night," Yuffie answered. "And then ate some for breakfast, I think he took it up to his room."

"Ah, that explains a lot," Rufus laughed. "Back in the old days, cakes and stuff would go missing at HQ. I always thought it was Heidegger ..."

Yuffie thought for a moment. _Reno and cake. It was a delightful combination ..._

-----

Watching the kids having a snowball fight with Barret, Yuffie decided joining in will help her keep her mind off of Reno.

"Hey, Marlene! How about you and me team up against your dad and Denzel? Girls against boys!"

Marlene's face lit up, "Yeah!"

Yuffie threw a snowball at Barret, which got him on the arm. Denzel retaliated, narrowly missing Yuffie's leg. Marlene dodged a snowball thrown by her father, hiding behind a large rock.

"Hey no fair!" Denzel shouted, aiming for Yuffie again, this time getting her on the stomach.

As Yuffie hit Barret on the ear with a snowball, she replied, "You wanna take it outside the village then?"

"Cool!" Denzel replied, as he jumped out of the way of a snowball.

"Time out guys! Come on!" Barret shouted, motioning towards the flat snowy plain just outside the village.

As Yuffie ran through the snow, she thought about how much fun she was having. She felt like nothing could overcome her.

"We all ready?" Barret shouted, who was then hit in the face by a snowball thrown by his daughter. "Guess we are then!"

As the snowball fight continued, it looked as though the girls were going to win. Being a ninja, Yuffie had a distinct advantage over Barret's bulky frame. As Yuffie bent down to roll another snowball, she felt one hit off her back. Looking up, Yuffie saw Barret and the kids in front of her. Bemused, Yuffie turned around to see Reno grinning at her.

"Oh, hi," Yuffie mumbled, slowly turning away her reddening face.

"What's up?" Reno asked, walking over to her.

Her back towards Reno, Yuffie replied, "It's ... nothing."

Reno spun her around, "Really?" Catching sight of her red face, he added, "You look cold, your face is bright red."

Relaxed a bit, Yuffie joked, "Like your hair."

Reno playfully flicked his hair, "Why, you like?"

Yuffie didn't get a chance to answer as a snowball hit the side of her arm, as she turned around to see Marlene and Denzel giggling.

"Hey kiddies," Reno began, "I think, it would be really funny if you can hit one off of Rude's head. Ten gil each if one of you do it!"

"Oh man, cool!" squealed Marlene, and she and Denzel followed Reno back into the village.

Yuffie liked how good he was with the children. _Wait, why the Hell am I thinking about him and kids?!_ she thought to herself. Nevertheless, she had guilty smile on her face as Barret walked over to her.

"Wanna head back?"

Yuffie nodded, "Sure."

As they made their way back to the village, Yuffie couldn't help but notice how beautiful the Icicle Inn area was. Perhaps it was the crisp, white snow, or perhaps it was because Yuffie thought she couldn't lie to herself anymore.

"I got him! I got him!" Denzel ran up to Yuffie, his hands clasped over the ten gil he had won.

"Really? What'd he say?" Yuffie enquired, looking out for Reno.

"Not a lot. He sure looked mad though," Denzel replied.

"You kids, I'm tellin' ya ..." Barret muttered as he walked away, shouting over to Cloud and Vincent.

Yuffie smiled, thinking that this trip was going to be her best yet.


End file.
